Pacifiers - Cape Coral,FL

Tell him that their is a new baby (pick favorite) animal at the zoo that needs pacifiers. Let him help pack up the pacifiers and "mail" them to the baby animal. When he asks about it, remind him that he gave it to the baby.

You are right that the damaged passy is dangerous, buy a new one of the same type he had but save one of the old ones in case he makes a fuss and show him it is broken and he could choke on it, then throw it away. when he is ready he will no longer use it. It is harmless at his age, many still use them as a security object. No different than dragging a worn blanket where ever he goes. Don't force the issue. If he is still using it at 3yrs then try the giving it to a new baby deal again, then hide it and see how he does without it. If a panic attack arises you can give it back . He will dicard it eventually on his own. One day he will want to be a big boy and big boys don't use passies. Another granny.

A few months ago my daughter (2 1/2) was addicted to her pacies. Completely in love with them! We went to the dentist for a check-up and found out that her teeth were actually suffering from using them. She had a very open bite, which the dentist said was probably not caused by the pacies, but certainly not helped by them. I limited pacies to only bedtime for about two weeks before we did the "Paci Fairy" thing. It worked like a charm! She was upset only the next day at bedtime when I had to remind her that the Paci Fairy had taken them to all the new babies that didn't have them. Since then, she hasn't asked for one! I think 2 1/2 is a good age to take them away because they're old enough to understand the fairy concept. It will probably be harder for you than it will be for him. From everything I've heard, kids respond a lot better than we think they will. Good luck!

Hi C.,
My daughter went off pacifiers cold turkey and did fine. She probably cried for a while (it was a long time ago!) but I do remember being surprised at it being less of a trauma than I'd expected. We were on vacation and "lost" it. And she used to sleep with one in her mouth and one in each hand sometimes!
Good luck!
L.

my son was very attached to his pacifiers and we ended up weaning him by first poking a hole then another, etc. to make them not as fun to suck on. Then we cut off the tip little by little until there was nothing left. He still liked to hold them in his hand during bedtime until he was 4, but we had broken the habit rather painlessly. Perhaps, if you haven't thrown them out yet, you could show him the teeth marks and have him help you cut the "broken" part off. Maybe being a part of that will help with the transition.

I don't know if this will help but my 2yr old loved his binky. He would never sleep without it. But one day he woke up and his chin was irritated from drooling and there was a hole in it. I was nervous to take it from him but I had to. I was surprised that he really didn't ask for it that much. When he did we told him that it gave him a booboo and it was yucky. After about a week he never really asked about it again. I was very shocked how easy it ended up being because he was VERY attached to it. I was told that it would probably take a week or so of him crying for it but he was very good about it. Good luck! I hope it goes well for you.

I never gave either of mine pacifiers, but my sister in laws did. One of my nieces used hers until she was about six. Her teeth were destroyed from it. I always heard that it you give a child a pacifier you should have them weaned from it by the age of one. Also if he is biting pieces out of them it is not safe for him to have them any more. The pieces could cause stomach problems. My sugestion is to give him a snack before laying him down and then reading to him. He should fall asleep easily this way and forget about the pacifier. Good Luck!

I had the same issue with my oldest daughter. I explained to her that pacifiers were for babies and now that she was a big girl, it was time for the "Binky Fairy" to come. One night I had her put all of her binkies under her pillow and in the morning she had a new doll to sleep with and play with. She didn't ask for her binky ever again. Good luck!

With my grandson we took him and his last pacifier to "Buid A Bear" We let him pick out an animal and told him prior to going that he was going to build a bear to build animal and his pacifier was going inside of the animal to prepare him. We let him place the pacifier in the monkey and he helped stuff it. It was now TiTi (name of pacifier) Monkey. He takes it to bed everynight and has not wanted a pacifier since - he knows the pacifier is inside the bear and it worked like a charm. We do find him holding onto his baby brothers pacifier from time to time, like when they are sleeping together he grabs it in his sleep and holds onto it. But no sucking! Good Luck.

Kathy

I saw a "Super Nanny" episode where she helped a 3 year old get rid of his paci. She told him that the Paci Fairy had written him a letter with an enclosed paci envelope. This was decorated to the hilt. The paci fairy's letter asked him to donate his pacis because there are so many tiny young babies in the world that don't have pacis. Since he's old enough to give up his paci, she wondered if she could have his. She told him to put the pacis in the envelope and leave it on the front porch that night. She said she would leave him a surprise if he donated his pacis.

He decided to do it. So the next day he went to the porch and found that his envelope was gone and another package was in its place. Inside the envelope were all kinds of little prizes (maybe a stuffed animal?) with some glittery confetti and a thank you note from the paci fairy.

I thought it was the sweetest idea. Good luck!

C.........
Many, Many years ago when my oldest, now 16, was using the passie at age two and I decided to get rid of it. We tried all different methods but the one the worked best was COLD TURKEY...he'd look for them and I would just say "all gone" as nicely as I could. It lasted 2 or 3 days and we were over the passie. I used the same method for my daughter who is now 14. Thankfully my youngest, 1, does not have a passie. Hang in there on the cold turkey. It will work but, will alos b a little hard!

C.

Personally, I found cold turkey to be much easier on my daughter. We tried the gradual method of cutting the tips, only during naptimes, etc. IT was a long process and it just wasn't going anywhere.

One day it was naptime and we couldn't find any. So I just decided we were going cold turkey. She cried about it, then it went to whining, and then she was over it. It only lasted a day or so. It was much less dramatic doing it that way.

L.

We went cold turkey. Our story was that the pacifier fairy came in the night and took it since she was turning into a big girl. This way the tooth fairy won't be such a far reach when that time comes!
We hadn't planned on this, but it did work. The first nap was hard but after that no issues. It is a funny story, we had thought we left the pacifier at my Moms which is over two hours away so we came up with the story. Turns out it was packed in the toiletries bag all along. Must have been time!
If you don't act like its a big deal, neither will they.
Good luck!
J.

C.,
We went "cold turkey" at about the same age as your grandson. But only because my son fell and knocked his front teeth out of socket! He's 8 now, and luckily his permanent teeth weren't damaged. It really helped that the Dr. was the one to say "no more." Otherwise the Binky may have gone on forever. Cold turkey wasn't so bad. Give it a try. Maybe you could substitute a "baby" to love, meaning a favorite stuffed animal, during the times when he'd have the pacifier. Good luck!
J.

My son, who is now 5, loved, loved, loved his pacifier. It's great when they're little, in my opinion, but when they get older it's time to try to break them out of it. If you really think he should keep it, do so only for just a little bit longer, but you should probably get rid of it. Especially with him having teeth and biting through it. How I broke my son from his pacifier is that I told him I couldn't find it and I even looked around with him for it and than said, "you know what, you're a big boy anyway." I told him that I would look into getting him another one but that he'd be okay without it until I did. Sometimes events cause them to mature a little and he seemed to realize that he really didn't need it. Again, if you try this and he is just going nuts, I'd say hold out a little but in the end if he's just miserable, maybe he needs it a little longer. At the same time, be careful that he doesn't bite it apart and than choke on it. That would be far worse than inconveniencing him temporarily through this growth process.